The week that was.... naaah C 64 yippee

(As a random experiment, I'm going to total my expenditure on a weekend)
I get up early nowadays so that I can switch off my broadband - happy hours end at 8 in the morning. Mornings are very sneaky they just zip past me..
Picked up my nephew at 10. We had a plan to watch Hanuman - an animated movie at the R(idiculously expensive) Adlabs, Mulund. I had exactly enough money for the tickets and travel.. I was too lazy to get some money from my card. (RunningTotal=225) During the interval some bozo right next to us, got a handful of popkorn and started munching. That's all my nephew needed to start hollering for popkorn n ice-cream n...I got up to get popkorn and turns out it's 40 bucks!!! I try a soft drink and that too is 40.. 4-5 times the street price. So I cajole my nephew into waiting. The movie was quite okay but could have been better.. they had a very good story-base to work on. So after the movie, We withdraw money and I get him some ice-cream n stuff. (RT-309). Hop onto a double-decker bus and train back home (my nephew is ecstatic.. hmm kids) . Somehow both of us just dropped deep into slumber and woke up only at 7. Watched ManUtd fail to score all 3 points AGAIN against Spurs.. they don't seem to have that magic after Beckham left for Spain. Keano is out, Giggs is injured, Scholes looks off.. Started watching 'Snatch' - was very sleepy so turned it off halfway, need to watch it again.
Sunday - Got up and spent some time watching wrestling. Then got a message asking me to pick up the commodore 64. I've been at the right place at the right time to get a C64 with some goodies FREE! Yes there is still some hope for this world. Trevor from the LUG made a post that I jumped at. Soon I was on my way to Bandra to pick it from his fiancee's place. Got some chocs for her and bought a stupid mag. It was a bloody huge bag and I lugged it all the way home in 4 hours flat. (RT-491). It's a mini-museum of ancient stuff, manuals,tapes - the kind that I like. I haven't plugged it in but it looks in prime condition - will need to bookmark a couple of days for this. Yeah right, I think I got days bookmarked right into next year.
It's bloody pathetic that I'm spending so much time doing things I don't give a shit about that I don't have time to do the things that I want to do. That's my long sermon for the day! I'll leave you with some pics of the c64...ciao

Personal Light Sabres anyone ?

I just found that someone is selling authentic light sabres in multiple colors, you know the cool ones from Star Wars. I dunno how much it costs to become a Jedi though :)http://www.thinkgeek.com/cubegoodies/toys/69de/

Calvin and Hobbes

I don't know how I have missed talking about these 2 guys for such a long period. ( I mean it's been months since I started this blog.)
I just managed to get my hands on 'Weirdos from Another Planet - a Calvin and Hobbes collection by Bill Watterson' (One guy whose mind I'd like to take a tour of). Now here's an example of superfluous talk - "IT ROCKS !!!"
CnH strips are like ... like.. like something (Hidden strip joke) One minute you're laughing out of your socks- the next moment it's like Bill's last panel steam rolls you into unquestioning acceptance. e.g. Calvin - 'I'd hate to have a kid like me.' or 'What's wrong with this world. You get only five years to be a kid...'
If you are one of the bipeds who haven't spent ages in the magical world of CnH here's your chance.
http://www.progressiveboink.com/archive/calvinhobbes.htm
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Nook/2990/weird.htm

[Update]
The wikipedia treasure trove
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_and_Hobbes
Here's the list of all published books... dandy reference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Calvin_and_Hobbes_books

Freak Accident ?

Sometimes coincidence seems too improbable to believe.
The stretch of the old Bombay Poona road at Kalwa has been in a very bad state for some months now. Even then it is a primary route to a large amount of truck traffic. What I state below is what I have heard from some people..
Last friday, two brothers (the younger was on the back seat with his arms around his brother's waist) were cycling to/from school. Some people were filling up potholes with stones and other patchwork attempts (this is a routine now). Anyway the rider somehow lost his balance- he tried to place his foot on the median/divider. (I have been on this divider before and it is too stupid for words. It seems like a miniature rock formation and vehicles have been known to get stuck there as the tyres easily go over it.) He misjudged it and both of them fell into the opposite lane between the front and rear tyres of a truck going the other way.
The trucker was "apprehended" later.I was there yesterday and there seems to be no evidence like anything like this happened. They have been reduced to just another stat.
It set off several questions in my mind..

• Whose fault is it?

1. The children ? - anyone could have slipped there with the roads in that state. They must have been cycling to/from school everyday.
2. The trucker - He couldn't have seen the children fall or had the time to do anything.
3. The people responsible for the roads - I don't know who these guys are. But to me it seems like they are the people who should take the rap for this. That road is an absolute nightmare even for pedestrians crossing it and no one gives a shit for public safety. What are these people spending my tax money on ? The Thane toll revenue on the eastern express highway seems to be supporting some hidden country.
4. A cruel twist of fate ?

Now someone has had the bright area of barricading the area against heavy vehicles and a part of the road looks repaired. But at what cost - the sacrifice of two innocent lives? I have no idea how their parents will cope with this and how the people whose apathy led to this, will sleep anymore (Am I one of them?).

• Are we really safe ? What can I do ? I cannot be with my dear ones 24X7 looking out for some stupid maniac on a bike or a car. I clutch even tighter to my nephew's hand now when we are walking in the open.
  

It is said that the younger one still had his arms around his brother's waist, when someone stepped in to take their bodies off the road.